Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Game of Thrones - Final Premiere Ratings
Sign Up


    Enable Dark Mode!

  • What's HOT
  • Premiere Calendar
  • Ratings News
  • Movies
  • YouTube Channel
  • Submit Scoop
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Privacy Policy
Get In Touch
 Join SpoilerTV
Support SpoilerTV
SpoilerTV.com is now available ad-free to for all premium subscribers. Thank you for considering becoming a SpoilerTV premium member!

SpoilerTV - TV Spoilers

Game of Thrones - Final Premiere Ratings

19 Apr 2011

Share on Reddit
The heavily hyped debut of Game of Thrones couldn’t come close to the premiere of HBO’s last big drama series, Boardwalk Empire, yet it still turned in a solid number Sunday night.

The first episode delivered a decent 2.2 million viewers for its premiere airing, then a rather strong 1.2 million for its first encore (the NBA playoff game between the Celtics and Knicks might have pushed some viewership to the second airing), and another 800,000 for the third telecast for an overall healthy total of 4.2 million. HBO then aired Thrones six times across all its channels Monday night, and those numbers will be added to this post later today.

Thrones first telecast was down 54 percent from the premiere of 2010′s Boardwalk (4.8 million) which received an immediate second season renewal. Yet HBO always takes into account what Sunday show was used to ramp up viewers to the new program’s premiere, and Thrones had a weak platform — Mildred Pierce, which averaged around 1 million viewers, a number Thrones more than doubled.

What’s perhaps the closest ratings comparison to a fantasy series like Thrones is HBO’s other genre drama, True Blood. A prestigious crime drama Boardwalk is much more in the traditional HBO viewership wheelhouse. Compared to the vampire show, Thrones did really well. Blood only opened with 1.4 million viewers, and similarly had no real platform to launch from, but then went on to grow week after week into a major hit for the network.

So what does all this mean for Thrones? The premiere number is good, not great. HBO would have loved for the first airing of Thrones to have been in the 3 million range, but will definitely take anything in the 2s. The next question: How many viewers will stick around next week?

Source: EW
-
Sign Up for the SpoilerTV Newsletter where we talk all things TV!

15 comments:

  1. nia ▪ nathalie19 April 2011 at 15:53

    that was an impressive pilot. it'll definitely stick, this one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Urinal Turd19 April 2011 at 16:53

    Doesn't look so bad after all. I compared it a bit to The Walking Dead, never expected it would be such a huge success and thought GoT could also reach maybe 5 million viewers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cadence19 April 2011 at 16:59

    Yeah, that was what I was working with. AMC is a great channel, but hasn't been around as long as HBO. I figured that if The Walking Dead could pull those numbers, a genre show on HBO should do just as well or better. The fact that the encore telecast had 1.2 million viewers (more than half of the first outing) and then 800 000 for the third says a lot I think. 4.2 million is a good number. I just hope we don't sink as much as Boardwalk Empire did.

    ReplyDelete
  4. darq19 April 2011 at 17:54

    Damn! I predicted 4.5 million and was off by 300,00 slackers who didn't watch.... but I was right that it had more viewers than Fall of Sam Axe...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Urinal Turd19 April 2011 at 18:07

    Exactly!
    by the way, love the fact that you're already referring to the show as "we".

    ReplyDelete
  6. darq19 April 2011 at 19:22

    Maybe he was using the "royal we" and we need to start referring to Cadence as Lord Cadence?

    ReplyDelete
  7. darq19 April 2011 at 19:31

    Lord Cadence... if I may inquire... .when is your review coming out?

    Yes after publicly declaring I was tired of reviews and promotion for Game of Thrones I now crave more reviews! I have consulted an addiction therapist but as it turns out after session number one I got them addicted to the series too! (I kid)

    ReplyDelete
  8. smallville94419 April 2011 at 19:38

    i was expecting more viewers like 3-4 million still good though

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cadence19 April 2011 at 19:40

    LOL, I just laughed out loud while in a quiet library!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cadence19 April 2011 at 19:43

    Ahahaha, I hadn't even noticed :P.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Cadence19 April 2011 at 19:46

    Oh man, hopefully by tomorrow. I'm getting really bogged down by the notion of a recap/review (SO MANY WORDS), so I think I'm going to stick to pure reviewing for now. I've kind of written a far too lengthy mix of recap, review, and book analysis. I'll split it in two - review and book analysis (lol, a la Book 4 and 5) - and work from there.

    There having been so many people with so many opinions, I'm having trouble saying something unique. I thought that I would discuss what worked, what didn't, and awesome actors/characters. I also have a lengthy rant about the music :P.

    ReplyDelete
  12. darq19 April 2011 at 19:50

    I watched it again last night and listened for the score and it was there in most the scenes without dialog, bu VERY quiet. I was surprised by it honestly. I don't mind not having a score for every scene, but if you are going to take the time to compose a score.... shouldn't it be loud enough to hear? Seriously!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sasha19 April 2011 at 21:38

    In all honesty, for a genre show like Game of Thrones, I was expecting these kinds of numbers. I have every confidence that they will only improve in viewership once the show establishes its core audience.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cadence20 April 2011 at 05:34

    When I was complaining that there was no music at all, I wasn't exaggerating. Yes, it's present, but most if it is hardly "music". It's simply mood setting sounds.

    That being said, I'm up to 1200 words and I'm about 3/4 done XD. I'll finish off/have my recap up tomorrow, but I fear that it may be TL;DR.

    ReplyDelete
  15. darq20 April 2011 at 05:48

    Long is good :)

    Besides... the first episode review is also an overall impression of the series t... not just the episode. It should get easier and shorter as more episodes air... at least easier to discuss the episode as singular episode and not the series overall.

    I've little doubt that the ratings will be higher than people expect on a week to week basis.... but maybe not so high next Sunday as it is Easter Sunday.

    Personally I always like beheadings, betrayal, regicide, incest and intrigue on my holidays... wait.. that sounded quite wrong and not how I meant it... I mean I like to watch... no - no better.... Simply put I will be tuning in on Sunday creme filled eggs, bunnies risen Lords or not.

    ReplyDelete

NOTE: Name-calling, personal attacks, spamming, excessive self-promotion, condescending pomposity, general assiness, racism, sexism, any-other-ism, homophobia, acrophobia, and destructive (versus constructive) criticism will get you BANNED from the party.